Sovereign of the Ashes

From the very first moment he interacted with HALL-E, Sein showed no arrogance and never adopted a domineering attitude toward the robot.

Instead, he consistently maintained a gentle demeanor, speaking to HALL-E as an equal and treating every exchange as a discussion between peers.

Sein had a feeling that if his group hoped to uncover anything meaningful within the ruins of the Eiyurant Papillon Civilization, the seemingly ordinary, rusty robot before them was the key.

After all, HALL-E was likely the only true “native inhabitant” of this subspace ruin.

With its assistance, Sein and his group could not only bypass energy barriers with ease, but might even locate the true central core of this top-tier civilization’s ruins.

HALL-E displayed remarkable adaptability to the unfamiliar Energy Amethyst.

As the blue-violet crystal gradually dissolved across HALL-E’s surface, transforming into a blank, translucent residue, the robot’s frame began to change.

Its rusted metal surface smoothed out, giving way to pale golden metal.

Though HALL-E remained cube-shaped, its overall appearance improved dramatically.

“It seems Energy Amethyst works on robots from this ancient technological civilization as well. No wonder the Magic Cube reacted to it earlier,” Sein mused, stroking his chin.

HALL-E curiously reached out and touched its own metal surface. After staring blankly at itself and its surroundings for a moment, it declared, “I’m full.”

Energy Amethyst served not only as an energy source but also as a substance that enhanced a robot’s capabilities.

However, it could not be absorbed in excessive quantities within a short span of time.

When Sein first discovered Energy Amethyst, the Burning Flame Unit had also reached her limit after absorbing too much at once.

For tens of millions of years, HALL-E had replenished its energy solely through the solar panels on its back.

Sein detected no energy fluctuations from inert crystals within HALL-E, but he chose not to jump to conclusions.

“Alright,” Sein said. “Since your injuries are healing and your energy has been replenished, let us move on and search for the others.”

***

With HALL-E’s assistance, Sein and his group’s search and relocation efforts accelerated significantly.

Under the robot’s guidance, they discovered special passages and gaps within the energy barriers that had previously blocked access to other regions.

Some of these openings were only a few centimeters wide and buried deep beneath the yellow sands.

Without a guide as familiar with the terrain as HALL-E, most beings would never have found such passages in such a short time.

Due to interference from the energy barriers, the effectiveness of Sein’s Faceless Mask and other detection-type magic was severely limited within this subspace secret realm.

When passing through these narrow gaps, Sein and his group activated their elemental bodies to slip through, while HALL-E transformed itself into an extremely thin sheet of metal.

The dozen or so low-ranking knights, lacking bone-shrinking techniques, were simply stored away by Sein using a spatial living device.

Although Sein did not possess specialized gear for transporting large legions, accommodating several dozen individuals posed no difficulty.

The old necklace he used to store Yuri was more than sufficient.

Their progress through the subspace secret realm became much faster, though speed alone did not guarantee meaningful discoveries.

In truth, they had still taken quite a detour.

After finding two experimental bases already reduced to ruins, they finally encountered familiar faces at the third facility.

Battles were still raging both inside and outside this smaller base.

Sein exchanged a single glance with Grethel, Black Oblivion, and the others before preparing to join the fray.

This facility was not a relic of the Eiyurant Papillon Civilization, but rather a remnant of the Black Merlot Civilization.

From a distance, Sein spotted an old acquaintance fighting alongside Valerie, another Rank Four mage.

Master Gilbert was not a good fighter, yet the old man appeared surprisingly energetic outside the laboratory base.

A dense barrage of meteors rained down from the sky, triggering successive explosions upon impact.

Amidst the chaos, Sein detected faint traces of inert crystal energy.

Clearly, Master Gilbert and his team were doing quite well.

The Gallant Federation forces opposing them were not overwhelming—only a single fleet with strength comparable to Rank Four, along with two particularly troublesome giant mobile suits.

It seemed the Magus Civilization forces that had retreated to this small base were limited in number, so the Gallant Federation had not committed many resources here either.

With HALL-E’s assistance, Sein and his allies poured out from the gap of another energy barrier, plunging directly into the fray.

Though their number of knights and mages was limited, they more than made up for it with their concentration of Rank Four combatants.

Aside from the gravely injured Hanliu, every Rank Four fighter joined the battle, including Yuri and her Burning Flame Unit.

As Sein fought, he could not help noticing that HALL-E seemed to be constantly assisting the Burning Flame Unit during the engagement.

Even someone as slow to catch on as Sein began to sense something unusual.

Robots... falling in love?

Sein suddenly felt his head swimming.

Robots, like elemental creatures, could reproduce asexually.

And did robots even have genders to begin with?

In Sein’s experience, the vast majority of robots spoke with neutral voices.

The few exceptions he had encountered, like Skyhold, Aetherend, and others, had voices that leaned slightly masculine.

The Burning Flame Unit, after years at Yuri’s side, had adopted a female voice.

Was this how gender was determined among robots?

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Sein felt a headache coming on and promptly abandoned the line of thought.

This was far beyond the truths and principles he was accustomed to studying.

Nevertheless, this situation made Sein’s future research into HALL-E all the more valuable.

If HALL-E truly remained a robot without desire or emotional inclination, Sein would not even know where to begin.

The battle outside the small experimental base ended quickly.

The sudden arrival of multiple law-wielding Magus Civilization combatants shattered the Gallant Federation legion’s formation.

Once the enemy capital ship issued a retreat order, the federal vessels and giant mobile suits withdrew without hesitation.

Sein and his group did not pursue. They lacked information on the Gallant Federation’s broader deployment and had no idea where other enemy fleets might be positioned.

Sein’s primary concern now was the location of the Magus Civilization’s main force, especially the status of the garrison legions originally stationed outside the ruins.

“I never expected Master Sein to appear here and rescue us,” Gilbert exclaimed as he approached. “I thought you were all caught up in the incident at the main base.”

“Where’s Master Howard and the others?” Sein asked.

“We agreed to retreat in this direction temporarily,” Sein continued with a frown. “But along the way, I only saw two experimental bases reduced to ruins. I didn’t see Master Howard or the others.”

“I haven’t seen them either, but I received their message earlier,” Gilbert replied.

“All knights and mages within the ruins were ordered to assemble at Yellow Sand Base Two. The garrison legions originally stationed outside the secret realm have also regrouped there.

“Besides Valerie and me, there were two other Rank Four mages stationed at this experimental base,” Gilbert added.

“Valerie and I are old and frail, and our stamina is limited. We volunteered to remain behind to provide long-range support. The other two escorted the majority of the research mages from the base to Yellow Sand Base Two.”